Going Under
by poppeteyt
Summary: How different could it be if Wirt and Greg's ages were swapped? They travel through the Unknown lost and scared trying to find out how to come back home. Without anyone to help, care, and love the brothers on their long and excruciatingly painful journey. And for some reason, little Wirt has a feeling that this adventure is going to change his life forever.
1. Chapter 1: Trick-or-Treat

**Chapter 1: Trick-or-treat**

"Okay, Wirt. Are you ready to have the best night of your life?" a plump boy questioned his little brother.

"'Cause it's going to be out . . . there!" He pointed his finger towards the front door.

"Don't you think that you are too old to go Trick-or-treating? Isn't it for little kids that are three to eleven years old?" asked the child named Wirt.

"Of course it's not, silly! Trick-or-treating is for all ages to get free candy and get scared and all that kind of stuff. But you got to hurry and put your costume on soon or the monsters outside are going to eat you up!" the fifteen year-old named Greg threatened Wirt playfully while he tackled him to the ground and tickled him.

When they finally got up from the floor, Wirt put on his red cone-shaped hat. They said their goodbyes to their parents and went into the autumn night.

-O.t.G.W.-

The siblings started down the sidewalk, heading toward the football stadium. They arrived to a fenced-off field. Greg lead Wirt to their seats on the red bleachers and sat down.

"Football! Yeah!" Greg shouted from the stands when they arrived, while he pumped his clenched fists in the air. Wirt looked at him like he was a weirdo and pulled out a yellow edged tape with a red center and a long paper sticker that said "FOR SARA". He stared at it and touched where it said "SARA," and sighed. _If only the seagull would glide over the sand to come across a flower and thought about her every day but it blew away forever leaving the bird_. Greg glanced at Wirt to see if he was having fun and _he_ was, but all the sudden Wirt quickly stood up and arched his arm in the air, like he was just about to throw it.

"Hold on a sec' little Wirt! Let me through it, I can get it further!" Greg bowed his arm in the same motion as his sibling.

"Wait, isn't that the tape we made for Sara? Why would you throw it away?"

"I was trying to get rid of it because . . . because . . . _Sara doesn't like me_!" Wirt yelled and snached the tape back from Greg and chucked it to the edge of the field. The object hit Sara the bee on the back of her head and she turned around to see what it was and picked it up.

" _Sara!"_ Both boys cried as they started to climb over the stands to get to the football mascot. Once they got to her Wirt pushed Greg into the tunnel that lead into field so no one could see them.

"Are you okay Sara? Are you hurt?" Wirt apologized to the girl, staring at the ground with burning cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But do you have any idea where this came from?"

"Oh. I did. I tried to get rid of it but turns out that you were where it landed and . . . well, Greg and I made it for you."

"Thanks Wirt! Anyway, why would you get rid of something that you made for me?"

"Because it's terrible!"

"Did you put your time and effort in that tape? Then you should keep doing what you love!"

"Oh well, you can listen to it if you want. I don't need it. Greg put the poem I made, into a song!"

"Cool! I'll listen to it when the game is over. Bye the way, you were invited to the party! Well, I need to do the rest of my routine. See you two there!" Sara the Bee said as she cart wheeled away from the brunettes.

"Goodbye Sara! Tell everybody that I said hi! Ah. Okay Wirt, let's go to Sara's house so we can get to the party on time!"

" But I didn't—," The six year old cut himself off when he realized Greg was skipping away with swaying arms. The boy sighed causing his small chest to fall. The two brothers exited the stadium and started down the road to Sara's house.

All of the sudden, Wirt noticed that Sara put the tape in her costume and it was still in there. He sprinted up to his older brother with his vest trailing behind him. When he caught up he said, "Greg, we need to get the tape back, it has poems and clarinet! She'll laugh and laugh and laugh. . . _and then she won't like me anymore_!"

"Then I know what we must do. _Let's get her_!"

"No, we are not going to do it like _that_ , we are going to get her."

"The tape?"

"Yes, we are going to get her back."

-O.t.G.W.-

Greg and his brother Wirt rushed down the street to come upon a house with many people inside. The yard was decorated with two jack o'lanterns with a black cat decoration hanging on the outside of the window. They walked in and everyone said hi to the two brothers. Wirt swung his head from left to right trying to find Sara while Greg was talking to the fifteen year olds. The brunet staggered backwards when Greg cried out something about elephants and bumped into a clown dressed girl with puffy black hair.

"Oh! Hey Wirt you're here! I was just asking about if you were here!" said the girl who turned around and he realized that it was Sara.

"Oh, wow. He—"

"Hey we are going the graveyard. Want to come?"

"Sure! If you are going, then I am going!"

"Okay then. Just one thing, is Greg here?"

"Um . . . I think he's talking with the others."

"Okay, just make sure that you pass the information to him!" When she said that, a boy with puffy, brown hair and a green suit came walking into the room.

He said with a voice that shook, "He-e-e-e-y, Sar-a-a-a. Yo-o-u-u ready to g-g-o?"

"Hey Jason! Yeah, I'm ready to go," the girl replied.

"Oh hello, Jason Funderberker. I'm also going too so you will have to share Sara also!" Wirt ordered the boy, puffing out his chest while scrunching up his nose.

"O-o-kay the-en, by-ye li-itt-l-e-e d-u-d-e!" Jason Funberker said while walking out of the room and waving his hand goodbye behind his back.

"Yeah, bye Wirt! See you at the graveyard!" Sara turned around and exited the room.

"Bye, _Sara stealer._ . . Oh! Sara's jacket!" Wirt said surprised reaching for the piece of clothing.

The girl came walking in again and said, "Oh, my jacket! Thanks Wirt! Come on!" She grabbed it and walked out of the room once again leaving the boy alone. _I had it in my hands and I let the chance fly away! Why can't I do anything right? If I took the tape out of the pocket and put it behind my back,_ I could have kept it! Ugh. The gnome dressed boy stormed out of the room, grabbed Greg, and left the house with no tape, no Sara, and Jason Funderberker along side of the clown dressed girl. They walked toward the graveyard with Greg trailing behind him down the paved road.

* * *

 **This is my first OtGW fic. Though it took me a while, I am still proud of what I have done. My chapters are not going to be posted very often so try to check by when I do. My sister, Wildtail of Wind, has not helped me edit this for the first time! Make sure to check out my sister's stuff! She's a phenomenal writer and she does OtGW and some collabs! Make sure to keep reading my Lucky chapters! C; Thank y'all for visitin' . . . widdle ol' me! xD**


	2. Chapter 2: The Graveyard of Lost Love

**Chapter 2: The Graveyard of Lost Love**

The two boys arrived at the graveyard with a pack of kids among Sara. They were all dressed in their costumes as they quickly walked through the arrays of headstones. Greg and Wirt followed the teenagers. The boys hid behind the tombstone labeled Quincy Endicott watching the teens tell a scary story while sitting in a circle.

"An-nd then, a gu-uy wi-ith an a-ax sho-owed up! An-nd then-n he ca-ame clo-oser . . . A-and cl-loser. . ." Jason Funderberker reached for Sara's and and laid it there for a few seconds.

"Uh, you can let go of my hand now," the black haired girl untangled her fingers from the boy.

"O-oh. . . Ye-e-ah-h," Jason Funderberker said disappointingly. _Why? Why does Sara. . . Oh, Sara. . . why can't she. . . No! Jason Funderberker! He took her away! Sara was the only person who liked me! I'm not going to lose her!_ The gnome dressed boy jumped up from his hiding spot and said, "I have a story too, _Jason Funderberker._ I wa—"

" _Hey what is going on here? Is this some kind of witches gathering? You're all under arrest!"_ a manley voice sounded from the speakers on a police car pulling up before the teens.

"Run!" cried one of Sara's friends already turning around.

" _Hey, hey! I was just kidding!_ " insisted the policeman inside the car, "You're going to trip or something!"

The children sprinted the away from the police. Wirt and Greg soon came upon a large brick wall that blocked their escape route.

" _This is private property!"_ informed the police. The brothers searched the area with wild eyes frantically looking around for an escape route, but all there was was a tree next to the wall that was large enough to hang over. Wirt grabbed Greg's hand, scrambled up the towering tree, and hopped onto the garden wall.

" _Hey, get down from there!_ " ordered the policemen, but the brothers sat there for a little while with Wirt gazing upon Sara on the other side holding the tape.

"I can't let _Jason Funderberker_ have Sara! They can't listen it!" Wirt cried while Grabbing Greg by his shirt and jumped over the garden wall.

" _No, not that way!"_ ordered the police. The brother's landed on the soil with a thud making the pebbles bounce. To the right was a broad train track running into the curved horizon. There was a shimmering pond further down with white swans.

Wirt and Gregory whipped their heads around frantically looking for Sara. Wiry spotted the clown dressed girl a couple hundred feet away from them and they rushed to her side.

"Sara, are you okay? Are you hurt?" asked Greg dusting off his kettle.

"Yeah. What about you Wirt? But where did th—," she got cut off by the sound of a train in the distance gradually getting louder by the second. The locomotive's light were two orbs side by side getting bigger and bigger.

" _Get out of the way!_ " Greg yelled and pushed Sara and Wirt off of the train track they were standing on. They started to roll down the hill getting scraped and bumped of every pebble and buch. All that Wirt knew was that his brother was still up there and nowhere to be found. _Am I really going to die like this? I didn't even get to tell Sara ab—_ Little Wirt got cut off by water filling his lungs, vision getting blurry, and blacking out going into the unknown.

* * *

 **Sorry this chapter is so short. The next one is going to be much longer. Leave a Lucky review! :D Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3: Reunite

**Chapter 3: Reunite**

 _G-Greg. . . Greg? Sara! What?_ Wirt snapped his eyes open and felt water in his lungs. The little boy coughed out the remaining water while clutching his stomach and slumping to the ground. He was starving like he never had, and the back of his throat felt like it was ripped in half and inside out. A tear dripped down his small cheek and fell to the ground. The tear hit something metal making a ting sound. He curiously glanced at the metal tea kettle by his foot. _Wait, kettle? Greg!_ Wirt whipped his head around with wild eyes searching for his brother, Sara, someone, _anyone_. The surrounding area was a dark forest with snow covered soil. A mouse scurried across one of the tree trunk's roots making him jump.

"Gross," Wirt was disgusted by the rodent and turned around. The gnome dressed boy traveled deeper into the forest and stopping every few seconds to listen for someone calling. _If only I could get a better view. Maybe somewhere high up to see above all of these levees. What is that called? Oh yeah. The canopy! Right? But there is no leaves, so is it the branch-opy? I'll ask Greg later. Greg. If I'll ever find him._ Wirt gazed up, skimming the thick forest for a tree that was tall enough for him to see, yet have a thin enough trunk to climb.

The boy walked over the tree nearest to him and attempted to grab the lowest branch. He reached up and missed. _Oh, come on! Just off by a inch. Maybe I can stand on something to reach it._ He tried one more time but jumped hoping that could get some extra height. Wirt's middle finger barely brushed the rough bark. He started to fall, landing on the backside with a thud.

"Ow. . ." He struggled to get to a standing position using his knee to push off of rubbing his bottom. Wirt took off his cone shaped hat and placed it onto the ground by the base of the tree. He tested it if was sturdy enough but crumpled under his weight.

"No! Come on hat! I need to get to Greg! You know what . . . I'm just going to use a rock," the brunette crouched down skimming the soil for a large flat stone to stand on. Wirt spotted the perfect one; it was a rock the size of a watermelon and was somewhat smooth. The whole thing was a shade of dark gray with spatters of a black substance. He held it up to his face to get a closer look. _What_ is _this? Eww! It's sticky! Is it . . . oil?_ Wirt looked around trying to find out where it came from. He spotted a tree that had that same substance dripping down its trunk and on the branches. Some of it came down so far that it was spattered on the ground.

Suddenly, he heard a faint call for help. It sounded like it came from a girl! _Sara! She's alive!_ Now frantic, he flipped around looking in every direction searching for where the cry came from. Wirt spotted a slight movement of colorful spots and dark puffy hair about a dozen yards away from him. His eyes widened in shock, hand flying to his mouth.

" _Sara! I'm here! It's Wirt_!" the boy bolted towards the girl dodging the obstacles in path with tears streaming down his face. For a split second, he thought he saw a man as dark as night with antlers and a cape. Where its face should be was two glowing white orbs illuminating the tree bark behind him. It. _What was that? Forget it._ As he became closer into the girl, he realized that she had a dark red substance on her left thigh. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold and had specks of snow in her hair. There was also something blue beside her. It was an adorable blue bird! Wirt was only five feet apart away from Sara and she took him in her arms engulfed the boy with her embrace.

"I missed you. . . Are you hurt?" she held him at arm's length examining the young boy.

"No. You?"

"No. But, I found this bird. She has something wrong with her wing and is bleeding pretty bad. I think she broke it," she gestured toward the animal with the tip of her head to the side.

"Uugh . . . Would you keep it down?" the blue bird said with a raspy voice. _What?_ Wirt screamed in horror with the sight of blood and the talking bird. Wait. _Talking_ bird?

"Wuh, what? _How are you talking_?" he cried out. "Oh, you're bleeding! We need you to get you medical attention right away!" Wirt started taking off his blue and red cape and attempted to wrap it around the small blue bird.

"I'm fine! My name is Beatrice!" she fanned the offering away with her wings.

"Oh! You're a girl. What a nice name. Then, what happened?" Wirt took away the cape and put it back on.

"I flew into a tree and got knocked out."

"Did you break your wing in the process?"

Beatrice sighed and said sarcastically, "No, I'm just laying here for no reason, cone head."

"Sara, this bird is being mean!" Wirt complained puffing out his cheeks.

"Beatrice, take it easy! He is just a kid!" Sara insisted.

"I don't care, I can talk to him how I want to!" the bluebird snapped back. Beatrice got up, shook out her wings and flapped them uncontrollably. Her feet lifted off the snowy ground and took off sideways.

"Wagh!" she said has she hit the tree next to her right and crashed to the ground. But there was something weird about that tree. The bark was pitch black and smooth while the others were rough. It has two glowing orbs near the top and was the shape of a man. It had a ripped up cape and reached down to pick her up.

" _Don't touch her! She's injured_!" the two friends cried. Wirt reacted the fastest and ran over to the captured bird in the "man's" hands. It's fingers covered her like a blanket only letting her face show. The bluebird was squirming and fighting to get out of this stranger's grip. Though Beatrice was trying to conceal her terror, Wirt could clearly see it in her eyes.

The gnome dressed boy lunged forward and started pounding his fists on the creature's abdomen crying out, "Let go of my friend, Beast! Shoo! Go away forever!"

There were tears streaming down his face and realized that his punches weren't doing any damage and decided to change his plan.

Then, Sara came cartwheeling to the rescue with a battle cry. She brought her leg down so hard on the Beast's foot that he stumbled back and accidentally loosened his grip enough to let the bird move. Beatrice bowed her neck and pecked the man hand as hard as she could.

The Beast finally released Beatrice shaking out his hand and said in this deep and bellowing voice, "You will pay for this, Wirt and Sara. Woodsman, take care of these children for me or else your daughter's flame would go out."

" _Run_!" the bird cried and started sprinting the best she can on her bird feet in the opposite direction.

Wirt and Sara slowly turned around with a horrified look on their face. What the kids saw is what every person fears of. A man holding an ax over his head ready to swing.

* * *

 **The chapters are going to upload more quickly because I'm out of school! :D Leave a review and a favorite! Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4: Shadows can be Deceiving

**Chapter 4: Shadows can be Deceiving**

All three children screamed in fright and Wirt covered his head with his arms. The man looked about in his forties and had lumber strapped to his back. He had gray sideburns showing under his tall black hat. He was also wearing a buttoned up jacket with black pants and black boots. His eyes were glowing as bright as the Beast's and brought his ax down on Sara.

The cheerleader jumped out of the way and the weapon slammed into the ground.

"Why do I have to everything myself?" Beatrice leaped into the air, landing on Sara and onto this so called 'Woodsman' the Beast called him, and whacked him on his spinal cord with her wing. The Woodsman made a groaning sound and eyelids fluttered shut when his eyes stopped glowing. He fell forward and face planted in the snow.

Wirt grimaced and clenched his teeth at the sight while Sara just stood there with her mouth wide open.

"What are you waiting for? A zombie to come out of the ground?" Beatrice said sarcastically rolling her eyes.

Wirt and Sara peeled their orbs off of the man and snapped back into reality. The clown dressed girl bent down by the Woodsman and picked up his ax that he dropped.

"We should keep this. You know, for safety. I wonder if he had kids," Sara looked like she just ran over a puppy crouching by the Woodsman. There were tears welling up in her eyes but she blinked them away.

"Come on, Softie and Cone Head! We have to get out of here before he wakes up!"

"Are you sure he'll be alright?"

"Fine, whatever you want,"

"Where are we going? We are lost in the middle of nowhere with a knocked out man on the floor for pete sake!"

"Just . . . listen to me. I know how to get you guys home. Just follow me and I promise you two won't get hurt. Deal?" Beatrice said in a calm voice. Wirt and Sara looked at each other and nodded. They had nothing better to do and this was their only hope.

"Deal," agreed Sara and Wirt.

"Okay, let's move out!"

-O.t.G.W.-

The trio of friends traveled along a running creek which Beatrice said that it would lead to 'civilization'. Wirt had his doubts but Sara was desperate and did whatever she said. On the way there a winter storm started. Then the snow got harder, and harder, and harder. The winds started to pick up and got to a point of where they couldn't see a hand in front of their face.

" _Beatrice! We have to get out of this blizzard! We'll freeze to death_!" Wirt cried with concern on his face.

"Just a little . . . further," the bluebird replied.

" _But you said that twenty minutes ago_!" Wirt whined. He felt an ice cold hand wrapping around his. _Sara!_ Two seconds later his cheeks were flushed a bright red.

"We'll get through this together. Beatrice will get us home, I just know it."

"Yeah,"

"Don't let go of my hand. We could get separated,"

"Oh! Sure!" Wirt blushed even harder. The stream beside them started to ice over and the trees made way to a clearing.

"There it is," the bluebird informed. There was an old abandoned house with boarded up windows. Rotted trees were leaning against the walls and had no color. The roof was falling apart and there were no lights on.

"Umm . . . Beatrice? I don't think that this is a safe place . . . There might be ghosts!" Wirt whimpered.

"First of all, you two made a deal to came along with me. Second of all . . . _there is no such thing as ghosts_!" Beatrice yelled.

"But . . . b-but —" tears started to well up in his eyes and quickly froze.

"What now?" she said impatiently.

"You yelled at me!" now he was crying hysterically.

"Uugh! Sara, calm this monstrosity!" Beatrice huffed. Sara bent down to Wirt's eye-level and gave him a hug. Well, that closed him up.

"Hush. . . let's go inside to warm up. You're freezing!"

"O-okay,"

-O.t.G.W.-

They entered the abandoned house and realized that the front room was empty. At least, so far. The fireplace was lit causing the room to turn a faint reddish orangish. It was exactly across the front door. There was no knob so it was pushed open. Candles were lining the counter to the left. Sara took a step forward and suddenly a fog settled over them. Wind was swirling around them and a horrifying screech filled the air.

"I'm sorry my turtles . . but _I must feed_!" a ghost-like voice said. A warped girl's face that was out in front of the smoke came out with her arms lashing out trying to grab them. She wore a bonnet and a green dress with a white apron.

All three children widened their orbs in horror to realize there was another being in the room but this one was three times bigger. It was also wearing a bonnet but had a black cloak on. 'She' had a large face and a red nose. It's eyes were also large and were yellow. She was holding a bell-like trophy that she kept saying while ringing, "The ringing of the bell commands you!"

Sara clutched her ax herder in her right and brought it up to her ear and swung at them. She abruptly stopped and her eyes started to glow as well as the bluebird. They all turned to Wirt and the clown dressed girl swung the blade right next to his ear.

The boy took a step back with confusion and hurt. _They're trying to hurt me! I have to get out of here!_

" _Don't come closer! Sara! Please! Get away_!" he yelled putting his hands in front of his face. The female ghost grabbed his arm with ice cold hands. He yanked free and threw a punch at her nose and dashed out the door grabbing Beatrice. _Run, run run run run run!_

When the two were about a half of a football field away, Wirt glanced back.

"Ha! We lost them! Wait, Sara! I-I thought she came with us! We have to go back!" the gnome dressed boy said.

"I can't go back to that circus," Beatrice exclaimed.

"Rude"

"Just keep moving, Cone Head."

Wirt stuck his tongue at her. They traveled deeper and deeper into the forest without Sara and without Greg.

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 **I don't know how many chapters there is going to be, so prepare for a bunch to flood in! I'm going to try to update as fast as I can before school starts, so leave a Lucky review! :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Journey

**Chapter 5: Journey**

"Umm . . . Beatrice?"

"What? _Another_ complaint?"

" _Mean_."

"Ugh. Just get _on with it_!"

"I-I'm scared . . . a-and sad . . ."

"From _what_?"

Tears were welling up in Wirt's eyes and spilled down his face. "I miss Sara-a! Can we go back? I want to see her! B-ut that ghost! She wanted to eat me!"

"Well, obviously."

"I just want . . . to go home."

What kind of feeling was flowing through the bluebird? Was it . . . sorrow? Guilt? Beatrice shook those feelings away.

"Hey, I know how to get you back home!" she said with a sly grin. Or what she could with a beak.

Wirt sniffled, "Really?"

"Yeah! Well you better hurry!" the bluebird started forward. There was bare trees bending over a frozen river to their left and large bushes on either side of them.

All of the sudden a bush close to Wirt and Beatrice rustled.

"Bea—!" the gnome dressed boy got tacked to the ground knocking the wind out of him before he could cry for help. " _Let me go_! You . . ." He turned his head to the side to see who it was and his eyes widened in shock.

"Wirt! It's Okay! It's me. Your brother," Greg said with tears in his eyes, smiling, "I missed you . . ."

" _Wuh- what_ _how did you get h-here and I-I thought you got hit by the train and how did you find me a-and and and_ , " Wirt blurted all in one sentence.

"Woah, woah, woah! Slow down Wirt!"

"I . . . thought you were a gonner. . ." sobbed the gnome dressed boy.

"It's ok! It's fine! Come on, little brother! We have to find Sara!" Greg grabbed Wirt's hand and brought him to his feet. He started to tug his arm to get him moving. Wirt allowed it but said, "Greg . . . Sara is . . . not here . . . there was a ghost and they started to attack Beatrice and I and Sara tried to make them go away and her eyes started glowing then she was trying to hurt me! We escaped but had no choice but to leave Sara. . ."

"What?! Sara is a ghost now?! Yes! I _was_ right! Ghosts _are_ real! Wait . . . who's Beatrice?"

"The bluebird."

"Uhh . . ." Greg whipped his head around searching the bare trees and saw no sign of a bird.

"I'm down here, Teakettle," Beatrice grumbled and whacked Greg's leg with her wing. She winced due to using her injured one but tried to conceal it.

"Oww . . .Oh! There you are! Umm . . . are you ok?"

"I'm _fine_. Mind your own bizness."

"But you have a medium hairline fracture in your humerus! That's _very_ painful! Good thing I took health class."

"I can take care of myself just fine. I just need to sleep on it."

"Welp, it's getting dark and we need to make a fire, shelter, and fix your wing!" Gregory searched the surrounding area for a clearing of the trees. "Over here is a good spot to settle! Ah, smell the fresh air! Feel the snow! I love it out here."

"Greg, we didn't have dinner yet! I'm hungry," Wirt complained tugging on his brother's hand.

"We'll get you something to eat soon! But first help me make a fire," Greg dragged his brother towards the clearing but suddenly froze. The bushes rustled and Wirt squeezed his brother's hand harder.

"A frog!" Greg cried in delight as he bent down to grab the amphibian. "I'll name you . . . Gasp! Cucumber! The perfect name for a frog," He clutched the animal to his chest.

"Should I get some wood for the fire?" Wirt asked.

"Yeah! I'll fix Beatrice while you're at it."

"Uugh!" the bluebird huffed. "Fine, fine! Do _whatever_ you think is _so_ important to me!"

The brunette trotted into the forest to gather large branches for the shelter and the fire.

"Miss bluebird, you stay right here. I'm going to find some mint leaves to put on your wing; but _I_ call them _healing leaves_. Plus, they taste good!" Greg walked over to the nearest bush and plucked off two branches about one foot long. He jogged back over to Beatrice and sat down panting.

"Why would you want to eat a _branch_? That's ridiculous!"

"Trust me, by tomorrow you'll feel _much_ better!" Greg made a sweet smile and leaned over to her and applied the one of the branches to her injured wing. Then he took the other one and popped a leaf into his mouth. "Try not to move your wing too much or else it won't work,"

"Whatever, it's not like it's magical or anything." Beatrice said. The plump boy ended the conversation with that and held himself up with his arms. The two chatted for a while until Wirt came back with the wood. They made a raging fire, a makeshift shelter out of leaves, and settled down for the night. The trio sat around the fire while Greg told scary stories until they all fell asleep.

"Goodnight Sara. . . " Wirt softly murmured as darkness filled his vision and his breath softened.

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Hi! Sorry this took so long. ^^' But I am proud of it! :D Leave a Lucky review! Bye!


	6. Chapter 6: Breakfast

**Chapter 6: Breakfast**

Greg's eyes popped open and he looked over at his sleeping younger brother. "Morning Wirt, sleep a little longer 'kay? I'm going to make breakfast." Greg got out of their shelter and went into the forest to collect more firewood. The flame was left an ember. A slow trickle of smoke roze into the atmosphere.

Greg started north searching for the stream. He took off his kettle, filled it with water, and caught three fish. Wood in one arm, fish and water in the other. He hauled the resources back to their 'home'.

The brunette made a great effort not to make too much noize. He built up the fire and gutted the fish. Greg used a sharp stick to use as a knife, put the fish through a stick to cook the meat while turning it, and sat the water on the fire for it to boil.

"Greg. . .?" Wirt faintly called to his brother in a raspy voice. The teen put down his skewer of fish started over to his brother crouching beside him.

"You Okay little bro? Your don't look so well," Greg placed the back of his hand on his forehead. His brow was burning and Wirt started to cough and sneeze repeatedly. "You have a fever! Maybe you should stay in bed longer. Breakfast is almost ready!"

"Greg—" Wirt broke into a coughing fit. He weakly grabbed onto his brother's green overalls. "We have to go back . . . Sara is back there. . . She could be hurt! Or worse! Please Greg?" the seven year-old said slowly gaining strength in his voice tears stinging his eyes.

"Hmm. . . Okay! Do you know how to get there? We need to make a map before we travel anymore!" Greg picked up a leaf on the ground and used the stem as a pencil. He drew a rectangle in the soil to represent the map. "Do you remember how this forest looks like? I— "

The elephant dressed boy gazed over to his brother and realized he was sound asleep.

"O-oh," the older brother left the child to sleep more. The animal stirred to the right of Wirt and covered her face with the well wing.

"Keep it down, Elephant! _Some_ people are trying to _sleep_!" the bluebird hissed. She shot a menacing glare at the teen.

"People? And my name is Greg, Ms. Bluebird," the teen noted bending down inspecting the animal's wing. "Does it feel any different?"

Beatrice's scowl melted away replacing a guilty look. Her eyes glazed over and she hung her head staring at the ground.

"When I was in the woods, I saw a bluebird and I threw a rock at it. It's my fault my family are all bluebirds. . . now I have to do what I can to bring them back to their normal selves. That's why I'm with you and Cone Head so I can find a path to fix it. . . as much as I hate to admit it, you nitwits are the last chance I have. . . "

Greg stared at the animal with sympathy and sat down beside her. "I-I didn't know. . . sorry Ms. Bluebird about that. So, does your wing feel better?"

Beatrice moved her wing out of the stick that held up her limb. Gregory peeled the leaves off revealing the once open wound. The cut was scabbed over and it stopped bleeding.

"No. . . it feels _terrible_ ," said the bluebird sarcastically.

"So. . . it _does_ feel better?"

"What do _you_ think, Elephant?" Beatrice said smirking.

"Yes. Now, I need to wrap a bandage around it to make sure your wing stays straight." The boy retracted a white rolled up cloth out of his side bag and wrapped it around the bird's wing.

"Well, I have to get back to cooking breakfast. Make sure you don't fly for a week!" Greg rose to his feet and started out of their makeshift shelter.

-O.t.G.W.-

" _Breakfast is ready_!" the teen called out. He carried the fish on flat rocks to act like a plate in one hand and little his kettle full of hot water in the other to Beatrice and Wirt. Greg placed the fish in front of them. He took a few Camellia leaves out of his pocket and dropped it into the kettle.

"There! All done! Eat up Miss. Bluebird!" Gregory cried in delight. He sat down the food and tea in front of Wirt and Beatrice. Wirt's eyes popped open due to the smell of food and slowly sat up.

The three children ate their meal with thankfulness and Greg extracted a piece of paper and a stick of black chalk from his satchel. Beatrice and Wirt explained their pathway to where Sara was captured and the surrounding forest.

-O.t.G.W.-

 _The solemn stare of night burned against my face, and I finally present my path to the spirits. Oh, Sara, why did you leave me so?_ Wirt took in a deep breath and stood up with the completed map of the Unknown in his right hand. He tucked the rolled up sheet in his front pocket. He started towards his other brother and gazed up at the vault of heaven searching for any sign of precipitation. There was a heaviness in the atmosphere and a slight snowstorm brewing in the distance. The brown leaves crunched under him alerting the teens in front of him. Greg turned around and took his little brother's hand in his. The elephant dressed boy placed beatrice on his own shoulder and the trio went out into the Unknown.


End file.
